


Intro to Transtemporal Science

by jerpid420



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Canon Continuation, Gen, Time Travel, Trobed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:53:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27580963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jerpid420/pseuds/jerpid420
Summary: Five years after the finale, the Greendale Seven(minus Pierce because he’s dead) reunite in their former study room. When they time travel back to the pilot in a time machine Troy and Abed built, they accidentally make their past selves hate each other and must repair their friendship, or they will never be friends ever again.
Relationships: Troy Barnes & Annie Edison & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	Intro to Transtemporal Science

**Author's Note:**

> btw the trobed part is pretty subtle, i made this for school and wasn't sure if my school would be fine with lgbtq

“Troy and Abed back at Greendale!” Troy and Abed sing in unison, entering their former study room. 

Troy and Abed beam at each other, remembering how much they missed each other. They remember how in 2014, Troy left on a boat with LeVar Burton to get all of their dead “friend” Pierce’s money. Abed remembers how much he struggled to adapt to that, and remembers how a year later, he drifted apart from his friends. Following her internship, Annie had moved in with Abed in LA. Recently, Troy had finally returned and moved in with Abed and Annie again. The six misfits, Jeff(the former lawyer and teacher at Greendale), Britta(the airhead, trouble causer, and failed therapist), Abed(the autistic filmmaker who is very meta), Annie(the confident go-getter and FBI agent), Shirley(the former desperate housewife and developing businesswoman), and Troy(the person with a million dollars and Abed’s best friend) decided that they should all meet together at Greendale, so here they are.

“You know, I thought I’d hate that, but nope, I still hate it,” Jeff retorts from his chair. “So, when is this going to end?”

Annie rolls her eyes. “You’re meeting your best friends for the first time in five years and you’re not even a little excited?”

“I try not to be emotional,” Jeff replies.

“Well, we have something that might make this more interesting,” Troy excitedly replies.

“I doubt that,” Jeff grumbles.

“Troy and I built a time machine,” Abed replies. 

“It’s a cardboard box with water bottle caps glued to it,” Annie grumbles, annoyed with Troy and Abed. 

“And it totally works,” Troy pouts. “Yesterday, Abed and I time-traveled two days ago and it worked.”

“It was at midnight, so our past selves were asleep,” Abed explains. “But it’s still cool.” Suddenly, he tilts his head up, looking confused. “Something’s changed. I’m ashamed to say so, but I just noticed.”

“Ooh, what happened?” Troy asks, excited. 

“We seem to be in a short story,” Abed replies. 

“Why are you only realizing that now?” Britta asks. Jeff glares at her.

“Don’t indulge him,” he hisses.

Abed ignores Jeff. “Most likely because the author forgot that I’m a pretty meta person and remembered that after reading another author’s fan fiction,” Abed explains. “So after remembering that, the author must’ve made me realize that randomly even though there is no context for that.”

“Abed, we’re not in a short story,” Jeff snaps.

“Oh, Jeffrey, if Abed wants to, um, believe that he is in a short story, let him be,” Shirley says in her sickly sweet voice. Jeff rolls his eyes.

“So, time travel? Time travel? Time travel?” Abed asks, pointing to his friends. 

“No, Abed we are not time-traveling,” Jeff snaps. “This isn’t a sci-fi movie, or a short story, or a toy commercial, or whatever dumb crap you think we live in!”

“Actually, the toy commercial was your hallucination,” Abed replies. Jeff’s face goes red with embarrassment. 

“Whatever, screw you Abed,” Jeff grumbles.

“C’mon, guys, don’t you think time-traveling would be fun?” Troy asks.

“I think it would be a good idea to time-travel with Abed,” Britta replies, in her I-am-the-best-therapist-ever-and-I-sound-super-dumb-but-I-think-I-sound-cool voice. She pulls a pair of black-framed glasses and puts it on, just to look “smarter”. “As a licensed therapist, I hereby therapize Abed to time-travel. I hereby therapize me to accompany him so I can heal his heart hole, and then therapize everyone in this room to accompany us as Abed’s official support system.”

“I’m not insane, Britta,” Abed replies. “Troy and I really did invent a time machine. We’re going to time-travel all the way back to when we first met and when Jeff first created a fake study group.”

“Mhm, yeah Abed,” Britta stammers. “You did! And we’re going to have so much fun time-traveling.”

“Whatever, do whatever you want,” Jeff grumbles. “I’m staying here.” Of course, Jeff didn’t really hate this reunion. In reality, he actually did want to time-travel with the others. But aren’t emotions a weakness? The only way Jeff could look cool was if he is this nonchalant, emotionless, attractive person. Right? “Fine, I’m coming. Gosh, Britta is the worst.” Britta smirks.

“Okay, everyone, all aboard the Trobed Express!” Abed happily exclaims. He shares a look with Troy and they both blush.

“Oh so _that’s_ progressed,” Jeff retorts. Troy and Abed blush deeper. 

“Anyway,” Abed replies, his face still red from blushing. “We should start time-traveling now.”

“Where is this _time machine_?” Britta asks, still wearing those dumb pair of glasses and using her I-am-the-best-therapist-ever-and-I-sound-super-dumb-but-I-think-I-sound-cool voice. 

Abed reaches into the small pouch he always wears. He grabs a cartoonishly small cardboard box with water bottle caps. There are two bottle caps on one side and a cartoonishly small whiteboard on another. One of the bottle caps is painted green and says “go”. The other is painted red and says “return”. “The way this works is fairly simple,” Abed replies. “You just write where you want to go and exactly what time, day, month, and year you want to visit that place. Then, you hold hands with whoever you want to bring along, and press go. When you want to return, you hold hands with everyone you want to bring back to the original timeline and press return.”

“This isn’t even sci-fi, this is just childish crap,” Jeff grumbles. He hopes that this doesn’t make the others want to leave him behind, but this was the only way he could still be _Jeff Winger_.

Ignoring Jeff, Abed writes “Greendale Community College on September 17, 2009”. Troy and Abed hold hands. The warmth of their hands makes them smile. Troy extends his hands to the rest of the study group, and one by one, Annie, Britta, Shirley, and Jeff hold hands with each other. Abed presses the green bottle cap. Suddenly, wisps of bright blue light swirl around them. A few seconds later, they fall to the ground and spot their former selves on that day when Jeff created a fake study group. September 17, 2009.

Their former selves scream. Their current selves scream. And then they see someone they never thought they’d see again. 

“ _Pierce_?” Current Shirley shrieks. “You’re dead!”

“See?” Current Troy says. “Time travel does work.”

“What?” Current Jeff exclaims. “But how?”

“Why are there clones of you six?” Pierce asks, pointing to the Past Troy, Past Abed, Past Annie, Past Britta, Past Shirley, and Past Jeff. “Why are they holding hands?” Pierce asks again, pointing at Current Troy and Abed. Current Troy and Abed let go of each other and blush again. 

“Pierce, shut up, you’re dead,” Current Troy snaps.

“Why do I feel the sudden urge to be mean to Pierce?” Current Britta asks. 

“He’s Pierce, what do you expect?” Current Jeff replies. “People like being mean to racist jerks.”

“We aren’t usually this mean to Pierce, are we?” Current Shirley asks.

“No, usually we try to tolerate him,” Current Abed replies. “But the author of this fan fiction hates Pierce with a burning passion, so they’re making us be mean to Pierce.”

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Past Shirley says in her sugary voice. 

Current Shirley groans. “You absolute dork,” she grumbles. “We’re from the future. I can’t believe that _this_ embarrassing desperate housewife was what I used to be.”

“Okay, what the heck is happening?” Past Jeff demands. “Am I insane? Have I gone insane? This disgusting toilet made me go insane!”

“I _die_ in the future?” Pierce asks in wonder, still thinking about what Current Troy said.

“Everyone dies in the future, Pierce,” Current Jeff snaps.

“But I practice Reformed Neo-Buddhism! I can’t die, my organic body simply stops working,” Pierce rambles.

“In other words, dying,” Current Jeff snaps again.

“Did you kill me?” Pierce angrily shouts at Current Jeff.

“Actually, he killed your dad,” Current Britta smirks. The rest of their current selves glare at Current Britta.

“Way to Britta it,” Current Annie mumbles.

“You are all murderers!” Pierce angrily shouts. He clumsily stands up from his chair and runs away. 

“Thanks a lot, Future me,” Past Jeff grumbles. “Now I don’t even want to continue the fake study group ruse. I already have my test answers anyway. So, boo-yah!” Past Jeff walks away.

“This entire thing was fake?” Past Annie exclaims. “I just wasted all this time at a _fake_ study group when I could’ve been studying?” Current Annie rolls her eyes. “This was a complete waste of my time!” Past Annie storms out. 

“Wait, so Jeff was lying?” Past Britta asks in wonder. Current Britta smirks, remembering how hard she tried-ahem-still tries to seem smart. “I can forgive anything, but I can never forgive a liar!” Past Britta storms out as well. 

“Okay, this is getting boring, I’m leaving,” Past Troy says, leaving. 

Past Abed turns to the current selves. “I thought this would be more like _Breakfast Club_ , but it is nothing like _Breakfast Club_ ,” he says. He quietly leaves. 

“Well, uh, I guess I’d better leave, too,” Past Shirley says. “One thing is for sure, I will never talk to those jerks ever again.”

“Oh my god, you guys,” Current Annie shrieks. “Did we just make our past selves hate each other?”

“What do we do now?” Current Troy asks.

“We have to fix this,” Current Abed replies. “If we don’t, we won’t be friends in the future.” Current Troy and Abed share a look. They couldn’t imagine a timeline where they hated each other. The very thought brought tears to Current Abed’s eyes, and Abed isn’t a very emotional person.

“I have an idea,” Current Jeff replies. “When I first came to Greendale, I was an inconsiderate jerk. But being friends with you guys taught me how lonely life like that is. You have become my family, and I can’t imagine Greendale without you. I don’t know about you, but I care about our family. Right now, our past selves think that they’re better off without each other, but we need to show them that they aren’t. I say that we each go to our past selves individually and convince them to reconcile with each other. And then we can deal with Pierce together. Or not deal with Pierce at all, we would be much better without him.”

The rest of the group agree, smiling. “It’s nice that you still use Winger speeches,” Current Abed tells Current Jeff.

“Alright everyone, time to repair our friendship!” Jeff exclaims.

***

Current Abed walks through the halls of Greendale and eventually comes across his former dorm. He finds Past Abed sitting on the couch, watching TV, and eating Lucky Charms.

“Hey, Abed,” Current Abed says.

“Hi, Abed,” Past Abed replies.

“Does this really make you happy?” Current Abed asks Past Abed. “Are TV and Lucky Charms enough to satisfy your needs?”

“I’m a person of simple needs,” Past Abed replies.

“No you aren’t,” Current Abed replies. “Deep down, you want more. You’re just scared to get more. But if you make the fake study group from today real, you _can_ get more. You can get loving friends. You can get beautiful relationships. You can get a successful career. You know what you really want.”

“No one would ever accept me,” Past Abed sadly replies. “And honestly, I don’t think much good would come out of that fake study group. I thought it’d be like _Breakfast Club_ . But it ended up being like _Stripes_ or _Meatballs_. Anything with Bill Murray.”

Current Abed sighs. “And I thought that this would be like _Back to the Future_. In a way, I guess it is. Someone goes to the past, screws up the timeline, and has to fix it. But anyway, there will be hardships,” he replies. “But real life can’t be perfect. Yes, I did once hallucinate that everything was made of clay. Right now, I think we’re in a short story.”

“I felt that, too,” Past Abed replies, smiling.

“You know who you really are,” Current Abed replies. “You aren’t a person of simple needs. You have much more complex needs. And all those needs will be fulfilled when that study group becomes real. You will have real friends. You will have a real relationship. You will

have a successful career laid out. You’ll become a filmmaker! Most importantly, even when you do get locked up into things, there will always be someone coming to rescue you.” Current Abed smiles, remembering when an _Inspector Spacetime_ fan locked him up in a prop and Current Troy saved him. 

“Are you sure?” Past Abed asks. 

“Yes, I am,” Current Abed replies. “Keeping the timeline together is the best thing to do. And for that to happen, you need to reconcile with the others."

Past Abed smiles. “Cool. Cool, cool, cool.”

***

Current Troy walks out to the football field to find Past Troy throwing footballs. “I knew I’d find you here,” Current Troy replies.

“Ew, get away from me,” Past Troy snarls. “I can’t believe that this is what I’m going to become.”

“You don’t like football,” Current Troy states.

“You don’t know that,” Past Troy fires back.

“Yes I do,” Current Troy replies. “I know everything about you. I am you, remember?” 

Past Troy decides that the safest strategy is to ignore his future self. “Admit it, you don’t actually like football.”

Past Troy groans. “Okay, fine, I don’t,” he grumbles. “You caught me. But what else can I do?”

“You can do so much more,” Current Troy replies. “You’ll find some joy in plumbing and AC repair. But ultimately, you’ll decide that your only goal in life is to spend time with Abed.”

“Gross,” Past Troy snarls. “That is the grossest sentence I’ve ever heard.”

“Look, you’ve been raised in a cloud of toxic masculinity all your life,” Current Troy replies. “And right now, it will be hard to admit your true interests. But there’s nothing wrong with being the emotional, geeky person you are. Look, I care about my relationship with Abed, and for that to stay the same, I need you to reconcile with your fake study group.”

“No way, I hate them,” Past Troy grumbles.

“They are your family,” Current Troy replies. “Let me tell you something. 

In 2014, you will leave Greendale to sail a boat with LeVar Burton. And let me just say, the years I wasn’t at Greendale were my worst. Sure, I was becoming a man or something, but I missed my friends. I missed sleeping in a blanket fort with Abed. I missed having Annie teach me smart stuff. I missed thinking that Britta and Jeff knew more about me in life. I missed Shirley’s warm, motherly kindness. Deep down, I know you think this is awesome. Please don’t trick yourself.”

Past Troy is in tears. “I want a life like that so badly,” he bawls. 

Current Troy smiles. “If you want a life like that, you need to reconcile with the others,” he replies. Past Troy nods.

***

After walking around Greendale, Current Annie eventually finds Past Annie in their former study room again. “What are you doing here?” Current Annie asks.

“Oh, um, nothing,” Past Annie replies, trailing off.

“You want the study group to be real, don’t you?” Current Annie asks. 

Past Annie sighs. “It’s just- it seems so perfect?” she rambles. “Troy, normal people, a cool, popular liar-ahem-leader.”

“Forget your crush on Troy,” Current Annie replies. Past Annie frowns. “You are so much better off as his friend.”

“What about Jeff?” Past Annie asks, twirling her hair.

“Oh, god no,” Current Annie grows. “You don’t even love Jeff. You just love the idea of being loved. Promise me that you’ll never fall for him.”

Past Annie frowns. “Promise,” she mumbles. “Other than that, what other positive outcomes could I get from this?”

“You know something?” Current Annie asks. “You’re so uptight. But in this study group, especially around Troy and Abed, you don’t have to be. You can be carefree. Plus, this path ends up with you being a successful FBI agent. Spoiler alert.” Both Annies chuckle.

“So, what do I need to do?” Past Annie asks. 

“You need to reconcile with the others,” Current Annie replies. They both smile.

***

Current Britta walks around to find Past Britta sitting on the front steps of Greendale. “There you are,” Current Britta says.

“I have some questions for you,” Past Britta replies. “Why do you look so dumb? Are you married to Jeff or something? Did you ever find out that he was lying?”

Current Britta chuckles. “You know why I look dumb,” Current Britta replies. “It’s because I am dumb. I never actually cared about being an activist. I didn’t actually care about bringing change to the world. I just wanted attention. The study group knows that really well, so now I always look dumb.”

“But I really do care!” Past Britta protests.

“You know you don’t.”

Past Britta sighs. “What about my other questions?”

“Don’t worry, Jeff and I are not a thing,” Current Britta replies. “We’re just friends. And actually, his ruse is foiled a bit after we spoiled it for you guys.”

“And we just forgive him?” Past Britta asks, astonished.

“Yeah, I mean we’re not any better,” Current Britta replies. “Look, you know that you’re just as broken as Jeff. But here at Greendale, you have a chance to get better. You have a chance to actually be a good therapist. The only way you can is if you reconcile with the others. Use this as an opportunity to improve yourself.”

“Fine, I guess,” Past Britta replies, smiling.

***

Current Shirley finds Past Shirley all alone in the cafeteria. “Look, I’m going to be as direct as I can, but aren’t you ashamed of who you are?” Current Shirley asks Past Shirley. “You’re obsessed with Andre even though he doesn’t even care about you and you’re still a desperate housewife.”

Past Shirley starts crying. “Do I get any better?” she sobs.

Current Shirley smiles. “Thankfully, yes,” she replies. “You start a wonderful business with Pierce right in this cafeteria. And it actually becomes pretty successful. You go from this to a successful, independent woman. But this can only happen if you reconcile with the others.”

Past Shirley wipes her tears. “I’ll do anything to be independent. I don’t wanna be a desperate housewife anymore,” she tearfully replies.

Current Shirley smiles. “We are so much better than just a mother. We are an independent woman,” she replies.

***

Current Jeff finds Past Jeff at a bench in the front area of the school. “There you are,” Current Jeff says. “Why are you still here?”

“Because,” Past Jeff grumbles. “No woman would want me.”

“So?” Current Jeff replies. “Relationships do not define your worth. You are much better off without a relationship, let me just say that. And besides, if you were sad, why would you still stay at Greendale?”

Past Jeff groans. “Why do you sound so lame? If this is what I’m going to turn into, that’s deeply depressing,” Past Jeff retorts.

“At least I’m not an ugly marshmallow,” Current Jeff retorts back. “Look, Greendale has given you a home when yours was taken away. It gave you a family when yours was broken. It gave you a new purpose when yours was worn out. Most importantly, it accepted you for the broken wreck of a person you are. But of course, this all happens in the future, and the only way it can happen is if you reconcile with the others.”

“Why would I need a family or a house or whatever dumb, cheesy thing you said?” Past Jeff mumbles. “I’m going to get a degree in four years, and then I’m going to get out of this miserable toilet and go back to my life as a sleazy lawyer. I don’t need friends or family.”

“Spoiler alert, you don’t end up being a lawyer,” Current Jeff replies. “Turns out majoring in Education in Greendale Community College isn’t enough. You end up teaching law at Greendale.”

“What?” Past Jeff screams. “But I need to be a lawyer!”

“No, you don’t,” Current Jeff replies. “You _think_ you do. But the truth is, that you don’t. You only need your Greendale family. And face it, if you’re going to be stuck here forever, why not make some friends?”

“I guess that does make sense,” Past Jeff mumbles. “But no one would want to be friends with me.”

“The fake study group would,” Current Jeff replies. “Because they know that they want this, too. Reconcile with the others. I swear you will not regret it.” Past Jeff nods, smiling.

***

After a long day of convincing, the past and current selves meet in the study room. “I’m sorry for being a liar,” Past Jeff apologizes. “It was a terrible thing for me to do, and there’s no justification for it. And I understand if you don’t want to accept me, but could you?”

“I’m sorry, too,” Past Britta says. “We all suck. And we all deserve a second chance.”

One by one, the past selves apologize and hug. The current selves look at each other and smile. “We did it,” Current Abed says, smiling. He looks at his watch. “It’s almost the end of the day. We should leave.”

“But what about Pierce?” Current Jeff asks.

Pierce walks in, smiling. “I’m sorry for calling you murderers. Can I join this group?” he asks. The other past selves smile and let him in their hug.

“Nevermind,” Current Jeff replies.

The current selves say their goodbyes, hold hands with each other, and press the return bottle cap. After a few seconds, they appear in their study room, October 22, 2020. “Did that work?” Annie asks. “Are we still friends?”

“Wait, when did Abed actually convince us that we were in a short story?” Jeff wonders aloud. “And when did Duncan make us invent something that represents humanity? And when did I make a pretty convincing speech about how humanity is disappointing and in addition to that disappointed you guys?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Abed replies. “Our past selves probably made new memories. And the author of this short story is too lazy to come up with original crazy situations so the author referenced another fan fiction.”

Jeff stares at Abed as if his face was made of eyeballs. “Sure,” he replies unconvincingly.

“I have something to say. I’m sorry,” Abed says, changing the subject. “It was wrong for me to manipulate our past selves. Manipulation seems to always lead to unintended consequences. I’ll stop manipulating.”

“Oh, Abed, come over here,” Annie squeals. They hug each other, because they knew that at the end of the day everything is fine.


End file.
